Jaden's bookshelf: all en-US Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:56 -0800 60 Jaden's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee]]> 20149192
The claim at the heart of the Christian faith is that Jesus of Nazareth was, and is, God. But this is not what the original disciples believed during Jesus’s lifetime—and it is not what Jesus claimed about himself. How Jesus Became God tells the story of an idea that shaped Christianity, and of the evolution of a belief that looked very different in the fourth century than it did in the first.

A master explainer of Christian history, texts, and traditions, Ehrman reveals how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty, Creator of all things. But how did he move from being a Jewish prophet to being God? In a book that took eight years to research and write, Ehrman sketches Jesus’s transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus’s followers had visions of him after his death—alive again—did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God. And what they meant by that was not at all what people mean today.

Written for secular historians of religion and believers alike, How Jesus Became God will engage anyone interested in the historical developments that led to the affirmation at the heart of Christianity: Jesus was, and is, God.]]> 416 Bart D. Ehrman Jaden 0 currently-reading
I was tracking quite agreeably, but Ehrman lost me in chapter three. He claims that Jesus did not see himself as a divine figure, or as the Son of Man. Jesus saw himself as the Messiah, the anointed one or king who would rule over the restored kingdom of Israel when the Son of Man comes, with his twelve disciples ruling the twelve tribes under him. His argument for this is that (1) Jesus was clearly an apocalyptic preacher awaiting the coming kingdom of God, the gathering of the children of Israel in a new kingdom of peace where evil is destroyed and the nations are conquered, (2) it makes way too much historical sense that Jesus taught he was the Messiah, the one who would rule in this new kingdom, (3) Jesus likely did tell his disciples that they would sit on these thrones, because later Christians would not invent him bestowing such an honor on Judas, and (4), however, Jesus must not have seen himself as the Son of Man, because he refers to the Son of Man in the third person in many different instances, in material unique to Mark, Q, M, and L, and the early Christians would not invent this either—why would they have Jesus appear to speak of the Son of Man as someone else? They believed he was the Son of Man, but only retroactively. Then, they put words on his lips in all the other places, scattered across the Synoptics, when Jesus clearly identifies himself as the Son of Man. These are, of course, later legends, simply because that is what Christians would have wanted Jesus saying.

This indicates somewhat of a weak methodology to me. Of course, the criteria of dissimilarity can help establish that a saying is likely authentic (if no one would have made it up, it probably was not made up), but it cannot establish that a saying is inauthentic. It is silly to argue that we only really know Jesus said something if his immediate followers would not have wanted him to say it. Sure, they could have over-extended what he said based on their developing beliefs. Or, they could they have developed beliefs because of what he said. Maybe they came to think of him in certain new ways beyond what he taught to explain how he could be the Messiah, even though he was humiliated and crucified, once they became convinced of his resurrection. Or, maybe, they came to think of him in certain ways, because that is how he talked about himself. At the very least, the latter is not prima facie any less likely than the former. Jesus seeing himself as the Son of Man makes sense in context—a bold apocalyptic Jewish preacher could have very well come to this conclusion about himself—and as pretext—this easily explains his followers later beliefs and traditions that he is the Son of Man. On the other hand, Jesus seeing himself as the Messiah and king of the coming creation, but not the Son of Man, requires more assumptions about what happened, and introduces a new complexity: now we have Jesus awkwardly ruling in the middle between the Son of Man, who is said to rule the new kingdom, and the disciples, who sit on the twelve thrones. But this interpretation is necessary for Ehrman's case: the "Son of Man" is the favorite self-identifier of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, and it would obviously convey a divine self-understanding... if he really claimed that title. But he did not, so he did not see himself as divine.

Of course, Ehrman has other arguments, which I am sure the book will explore. But the point it is not that his interpretation is stupid or impossible. It is simply, in this case, no more plausible. This indicates to me a methodological inconsistency that is a result of prior assumptions—the same type of inconsistency that Ehrman would charge against Christian scholarship. In fairness, he would often not be wrong.]]> 4.05 2014 How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee
author: Bart D. Ehrman
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: currently-reading
review:
Forgive how long this is. I could not sleep last night because I kept thinking about this. It was a mistake reading it before bed.

I was tracking quite agreeably, but Ehrman lost me in chapter three. He claims that Jesus did not see himself as a divine figure, or as the Son of Man. Jesus saw himself as the Messiah, the anointed one or king who would rule over the restored kingdom of Israel when the Son of Man comes, with his twelve disciples ruling the twelve tribes under him. His argument for this is that (1) Jesus was clearly an apocalyptic preacher awaiting the coming kingdom of God, the gathering of the children of Israel in a new kingdom of peace where evil is destroyed and the nations are conquered, (2) it makes way too much historical sense that Jesus taught he was the Messiah, the one who would rule in this new kingdom, (3) Jesus likely did tell his disciples that they would sit on these thrones, because later Christians would not invent him bestowing such an honor on Judas, and (4), however, Jesus must not have seen himself as the Son of Man, because he refers to the Son of Man in the third person in many different instances, in material unique to Mark, Q, M, and L, and the early Christians would not invent this either—why would they have Jesus appear to speak of the Son of Man as someone else? They believed he was the Son of Man, but only retroactively. Then, they put words on his lips in all the other places, scattered across the Synoptics, when Jesus clearly identifies himself as the Son of Man. These are, of course, later legends, simply because that is what Christians would have wanted Jesus saying.

This indicates somewhat of a weak methodology to me. Of course, the criteria of dissimilarity can help establish that a saying is likely authentic (if no one would have made it up, it probably was not made up), but it cannot establish that a saying is inauthentic. It is silly to argue that we only really know Jesus said something if his immediate followers would not have wanted him to say it. Sure, they could have over-extended what he said based on their developing beliefs. Or, they could they have developed beliefs because of what he said. Maybe they came to think of him in certain new ways beyond what he taught to explain how he could be the Messiah, even though he was humiliated and crucified, once they became convinced of his resurrection. Or, maybe, they came to think of him in certain ways, because that is how he talked about himself. At the very least, the latter is not prima facie any less likely than the former. Jesus seeing himself as the Son of Man makes sense in context—a bold apocalyptic Jewish preacher could have very well come to this conclusion about himself—and as pretext—this easily explains his followers later beliefs and traditions that he is the Son of Man. On the other hand, Jesus seeing himself as the Messiah and king of the coming creation, but not the Son of Man, requires more assumptions about what happened, and introduces a new complexity: now we have Jesus awkwardly ruling in the middle between the Son of Man, who is said to rule the new kingdom, and the disciples, who sit on the twelve thrones. But this interpretation is necessary for Ehrman's case: the "Son of Man" is the favorite self-identifier of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, and it would obviously convey a divine self-understanding... if he really claimed that title. But he did not, so he did not see himself as divine.

Of course, Ehrman has other arguments, which I am sure the book will explore. But the point it is not that his interpretation is stupid or impossible. It is simply, in this case, no more plausible. This indicates to me a methodological inconsistency that is a result of prior assumptions—the same type of inconsistency that Ehrman would charge against Christian scholarship. In fairness, he would often not be wrong.
]]> <![CDATA[The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)]]> 61215351 One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit.

In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.]]> 432 J.R.R. Tolkien Jaden 5 4.52 1954 The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.52
book published: 1954
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/10
date added: 2025/02/12
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]]> <![CDATA[Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith]]> 23492740
In Out of Sorts, Sarah Bessey—award-winning blogger and author of Jesus Feminist, which was hailed as “lucid, compelling, and beautifully written� (Frank Viola, author of God’s Favorite Place on Earth)—helps us grapple with core Christian issues using a mixture of beautiful storytelling and biblical teaching, a style well described as “narrative theology.�

As she candidly shares her wrestlings with core issues—such as who Jesus is, what place the Church has in our lives, how to disagree yet remain within a community, and how to love the Bible for what it is rather than what we want it to be—she teaches us how to walk courageously through our own tough questions.

In the process of gently helping us sort things out, Bessey teaches us how to be as comfortable with uncertainty as we are with solid answers. And as we learn to hold questions in one hand and answers in the other, we discover new depths of faith that will remain secure even through the storms of life.]]> 259 Sarah Bessey 1476717583 Jaden 0 to-read 4.24 2015 Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith
author: Sarah Bessey
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/05
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]]> Can We Trust the Gospels? 38395464 Is there evidence to believe the Gospels?

The Gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke, John--are four accounts of Jesus's life and teachings while on earth. But should we accept them as historically accurate? What evidence is there that the recorded events actually happened?

Presenting a case for the historical reliability of the Gospels, New Testament scholar Peter Williams examines evidence from non-Christian sources, assesses how accurately the four biblical accounts reflect the cultural context of their day, compares different accounts of the same events, and looks at how these texts were handed down throughout the centuries. Everyone from the skeptic to the scholar will find powerful arguments in favor of trusting the Gospels as trustworthy accounts of Jesus's earthly life.]]> 153 Peter J. Williams 1433552957 Jaden 4
It seems somewhat clear that the gospels have not changed much for over 1500 years. But I wish he addressed more the first 300ish years during which they were written. His main argument here is (1) scribes are historically reliable, and (2) why assume things changed before if they didn't changed afterwards? This is combined with his other arguments in the book, including that core Christian beliefs spread early and far, making it simpler to assume they were there from the beginning, than that they evolved over time; that the gospels demonstrate accurate knowledge of Palestinian language, geography, and culture at the time; that they fit together and often explain each other (though he doesn't address contradictions in any major way); that they include many embarrassing stories about the disciples and have women as the first witnesses; and that they quite interestingly correspond within the Old Testament narrative while reinterpreting it. Then there is the single genius theory: that it makes the most sense for the first positive statement of the golden rule and the many groundbreaking teachings and artful parables to have originated from one literary and philosophical genius, rather than many. This all provides reason enough to rationally trust the gospels, which is the goal of the book.

However, I wish Williams had more thoroughly addressed arguments about the unreliability of oral traditions and claims that the stories were largely changed during the first century or two as they were transmitted from person to person, filled in by an oppressed and apocalyptic people reinterpreting the Old Testament to deify a mere ingenious teacher—theories which find some of their evidence in the contradictions that Williams dismisses. Perhaps these stories are more fantastical than the simple assumption of gospel reliability (putting aside the whole philosophical concern with miracles and resurrections). Nevertheless, with these early years of transmission and apparent contradiction being probably the biggest problem people have with historical reliability, I wish he had engaged with them more thoroughly.]]> 4.43 2018 Can We Trust the Gospels?
author: Peter J. Williams
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/05
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Interesting book, very well-written and accessible, as Williams does not get into technical and marginal debates. Rather, he makes a high level argument based on a set of mostly undisputed facts and phenomena. His methodology is trying to make the best inference toward the simplest explanation of all the data.

It seems somewhat clear that the gospels have not changed much for over 1500 years. But I wish he addressed more the first 300ish years during which they were written. His main argument here is (1) scribes are historically reliable, and (2) why assume things changed before if they didn't changed afterwards? This is combined with his other arguments in the book, including that core Christian beliefs spread early and far, making it simpler to assume they were there from the beginning, than that they evolved over time; that the gospels demonstrate accurate knowledge of Palestinian language, geography, and culture at the time; that they fit together and often explain each other (though he doesn't address contradictions in any major way); that they include many embarrassing stories about the disciples and have women as the first witnesses; and that they quite interestingly correspond within the Old Testament narrative while reinterpreting it. Then there is the single genius theory: that it makes the most sense for the first positive statement of the golden rule and the many groundbreaking teachings and artful parables to have originated from one literary and philosophical genius, rather than many. This all provides reason enough to rationally trust the gospels, which is the goal of the book.

However, I wish Williams had more thoroughly addressed arguments about the unreliability of oral traditions and claims that the stories were largely changed during the first century or two as they were transmitted from person to person, filled in by an oppressed and apocalyptic people reinterpreting the Old Testament to deify a mere ingenious teacher—theories which find some of their evidence in the contradictions that Williams dismisses. Perhaps these stories are more fantastical than the simple assumption of gospel reliability (putting aside the whole philosophical concern with miracles and resurrections). Nevertheless, with these early years of transmission and apparent contradiction being probably the biggest problem people have with historical reliability, I wish he had engaged with them more thoroughly.
]]> <![CDATA[Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become Like Him, Do As He Did]]> 83817455
“One of the most important books I have read in a decade. . . If we would all follow in this way,our lives would change and the world would change.”—Jennie Allen, author of Get Out of Your Head and Find Your People

We are constantly being formed by the world around us. To be formed by Jesus will require us to become his apprentice.

To live by what the first Christian disciples called a Rule of Life—a set of practices and relational rhythms that slow us down and open up space in our daily lives for God to do what only God can do—transforms the deepest parts of us to become like him.

This introduction to spiritual formation is full of John Mark Comer’s trademark mix of theological substance and cultural insight as well as practical wisdom on developing your own Rule of Life.

These ancient practices have much to offer us. By learning to rearrange our days, we can follow the Way of Jesus. We can be with him. Become like him. And do as he did.]]> 288 John Mark Comer 0593193822 Jaden 4 4.56 2024 Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become Like Him, Do As He Did
author: John Mark Comer
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/29
date added: 2025/02/05
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]]> Jayber Crow 57460 "You have been given questions to which you cannot be given answers. You will have to live them out―perhaps a little at a time."
"And how long is that going to take?"
"I don't know. As long as you live, perhaps."
"That could be a long time."
"I will tell you a further mystery," he said. "It may take longer." Wendell Berry’s clear-sighted depiction of humanity’s gifts―love and loss, joy and despair―is seen though his intimate knowledge of the Port William Membership.]]> 363 Wendell Berry 1582431604 Jaden 5 4.39 2000 Jayber Crow
author: Wendell Berry
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2000
rating: 5
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date added: 2025/02/05
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]]> <![CDATA[The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, #3)]]> 148780 This book, third in Wright’s series Christian Origins and the Question of God, sketches a map of ancient beliefs about life after death, in both the Greco-Roman and Jewish worlds. It then highlights the fact that the early Christians� belief about the afterlife belonged firmly on the Jewish spectrum, while introducing several new mutations and sharper definitions. This, together with other features of early Christianity, forces the historian to read the Easter narratives in the gospels, not simply as late rationalizations of early Christian spirituality, but as accounts of two actual events: the empty tomb of Jesus and his "appearances."

How do we explain these phenomena? The early Christians� answer was that Jesus had indeed been bodily raised from the dead; that was why they hailed him as the messianic "son of God." No modern historian has come up with a more convincing explanation. Facing this question, we are confronted to this day with the most central issues of the Christian worldview and theology.

]]> 817 N.T. Wright 0800626796 Jaden 0 to-read 4.53 2003 The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, #3)
author: N.T. Wright
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/05
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]]> <![CDATA[The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives]]> 97792 How to Live as Jesus Lived

Dallas Willard, one of today's most brilliant Christian thinkers and author of The Divine Conspiracy (Christianity Today's 1999 Book of the Year), presents a way of living that enables ordinary men and women to enjoy the fruit of the Christian life. He reveals how the key to self-transformation resides in the practice of the spiritual disciplines, and how their practice affirms human life to the fullest. The Spirit of the Disciplines is for everyone who strives to be a disciple of Jesus in thought and action as well as intention.

]]> 288 Dallas Willard 0060694424 Jaden 0 to-read 4.13 1988 The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives
author: Dallas Willard
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1988
rating: 0
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]]> The Weight of Glory 29921671 208 C.S. Lewis Jaden 5 Random Lewis essays? Love it. 4.38 1949 The Weight of Glory
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1949
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/02
date added: 2024/10/02
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Random Lewis essays? Love it.
]]> Heretics 612143 In addition to incisive assessments of well-known individuals ("Mr. Rudyard Kipling and Making the World Small" and "Mr. H. G. Wells and the Giants"), these essays contain observations on the wider world. "On Sandals and Simplicity," "Science and the Savages," "On Certain Modern Writers and the Institution of the Family," "On Smart Novelists and the Smart Set," and "Slum Novelists and the Slums" reflect the main themes of Chesterton's life's work. Heretics roused the ire of some critics for censuring contemporary philosophies without providing alternatives; the author responded a few years later with a companion volume, Orthodoxy. Sardonic, jolly, and generous, both books are vintage Chesterton.

He is criticizing those who hold incomplete and inadequate views about "life, the universe, and everything." He is, in short, criticizing all that host of non-Christian views of reality, as he demonstrated in his follow-up book Orthodoxy. The book is both an easy read and a difficult read. But he manages to demonstrate, among other things, that our new 21st century heresies are really not new because he himself deals with most of them.]]> 176 G.K. Chesterton 0486449149 Jaden 4
Chesterton’s highest and most despicable enemy was the dogma of anti-dogmatism. As such, he gives the anti-dogmatists only cursory remarks. No man is harder to argue with than the man who claims he has no opinions. Rather, the true and interesting heretics, the men Chesterton most delighted to disagree with, were the men with whom he could disagree. These were the men who were dogmatic and wrong, those who, as he put it, had the terrible audacity to hold opinions contrary to his own. These were men like Mr. Bernard Shaw, Mr. Rudyard Kipling, and Mr. H. G. Wells—all respectable men and fascinating figures, and most fascinating because they had something most definite to say, and something most definitely wrong.

This ingenious, sporadic, and long-winded collection of essays is undoubtedly fun to read. Few men are more apt with a subtle insult. Perhaps none are more apt with a precise turn of phrase. For Chesterton, the first test of whether something was true could seem to be the question: Can it be expressed as an inversion of popular saying? He loved nothing more than to be an iconoclast, and nothing was more iconoclastic and contrarian in his day than orthodoxy. If the prevailing intellects of England had been Christian, one would wonder whether Chesterton would have become an atheist. We suppose not.

One heretic responded to Heretics, “I will begin to worry about my philosophy when Mr. Chesterton has given us his.� Chesterton responded in his sequel Orthodoxy, “It was perhaps an incautious suggestion to make to a person only too ready to write books upon the feeblest provocation.� Chesterton was never one to pass an opportunity to state his opinions. Some bitter critics will find any reason to slander their opponents and their opinions; this is not the way of Heretics. Chesterton uses his opponents as a mere excuse to espouse his own opinions. He is just as quick to state what he admires about them as what he so passionately disagrees with, and all the more quick to make fun of himself.

In rating this book so, I must say, I only deduct a star because Chesterton is too creative for his own good. He is often too windy and long-winded, but this is atoned for at least every page, or every half a page, when he writes a sentence that could be pondered for hours. For this reason, I can hardly summarize what he says, and much less provide a suitable quote to finish this review; he can only be read in his own right.]]> 4.16 1905 Heretics
author: G.K. Chesterton
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1905
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/28
date added: 2024/09/28
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Chesterton was a man who prided himself not so much for his opinions as for the fact that he had them. This was the first and most important matter for him: that what you believe matters. The chief paradox of Chesterton’s philosophy is, first, that every man must firmly believe and seriously defend his dogmas, and second, that every dogma a man believes is a fairy tale. He would not object to this paradox, because religion and philosophy are singularly paradoxical; the old word for it was mystery. Here is the mystery of religion: we must have dogma to be free to believe; we must have law to be free to live. This is the paradox that frees human thought: we must believe firmly what we cannot know absolutely. This is the contradiction that eradicates human thought altogether: we must know absolutely that we cannot believe anything firmly.

Chesterton’s highest and most despicable enemy was the dogma of anti-dogmatism. As such, he gives the anti-dogmatists only cursory remarks. No man is harder to argue with than the man who claims he has no opinions. Rather, the true and interesting heretics, the men Chesterton most delighted to disagree with, were the men with whom he could disagree. These were the men who were dogmatic and wrong, those who, as he put it, had the terrible audacity to hold opinions contrary to his own. These were men like Mr. Bernard Shaw, Mr. Rudyard Kipling, and Mr. H. G. Wells—all respectable men and fascinating figures, and most fascinating because they had something most definite to say, and something most definitely wrong.

This ingenious, sporadic, and long-winded collection of essays is undoubtedly fun to read. Few men are more apt with a subtle insult. Perhaps none are more apt with a precise turn of phrase. For Chesterton, the first test of whether something was true could seem to be the question: Can it be expressed as an inversion of popular saying? He loved nothing more than to be an iconoclast, and nothing was more iconoclastic and contrarian in his day than orthodoxy. If the prevailing intellects of England had been Christian, one would wonder whether Chesterton would have become an atheist. We suppose not.

One heretic responded to Heretics, “I will begin to worry about my philosophy when Mr. Chesterton has given us his.� Chesterton responded in his sequel Orthodoxy, “It was perhaps an incautious suggestion to make to a person only too ready to write books upon the feeblest provocation.� Chesterton was never one to pass an opportunity to state his opinions. Some bitter critics will find any reason to slander their opponents and their opinions; this is not the way of Heretics. Chesterton uses his opponents as a mere excuse to espouse his own opinions. He is just as quick to state what he admires about them as what he so passionately disagrees with, and all the more quick to make fun of himself.

In rating this book so, I must say, I only deduct a star because Chesterton is too creative for his own good. He is often too windy and long-winded, but this is atoned for at least every page, or every half a page, when he writes a sentence that could be pondered for hours. For this reason, I can hardly summarize what he says, and much less provide a suitable quote to finish this review; he can only be read in his own right.
]]> <![CDATA[Water from a Deep Well: Christian Spirituality from Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries]]> 1923579
The history of the church has shaped what our faith and practice are like today. It's tempting to think that the way we do things now is best, but history also has much to teach us about what we've forgotten. In Water from a Deep Well, Gerald Sittser opens to us the rich history of spirituality, letting us gaze at the practices and stories of believers from the past who had the same thirst for God that we do today. As we see their deep faith through his vibrant narratives, we may discover that old ways can bring new life to our own spirituality.]]> 364 Gerald L. Sittser 0830834931 Jaden 0 to-read 4.29 2007 Water from a Deep Well: Christian Spirituality from Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries
author: Gerald L. Sittser
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/14
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]]> <![CDATA[Can I Say That?: How Unsafe Questions Lead Us to the Real God]]> 201335472
We instinctively assume he cannot. We figure giving voice to those things will bring shame, rejection, and distance from him. But what if our hard questions don't need to function as an off-ramp from Christianity but can lead us closer to his heart? What if he is not afraid of our doubts but instead reveals himself in them?

In Can I Say That?, Brenna Blain brings her fresh voice to those who feel unsafe or unwelcome in the church, acknowledging the incongruity between the church's actions and believers' lived experiences. As a Bible teacher and an advocate for those who have experienced abuse, molestation, and mental health crises, she creates space for readers to be radically honest and ask tough questions—Am I safe here? Why does your presence feel so lonely, God?—while pointing them to biblical, foundational truth.

Leading the way with her own raw vulnerability and authenticity, Brenna shares her journey of wrestling with God and building intimacy with him as a result. Bravely exploring these deep places with Brenna will help

Know in your guts that God accepts you as you are—even as you question, struggle, doubt, and hurtBe reassured that he is bigger than anything you face and can handle anything you bring to himExperience his love in the most tender and needy parts of your heartEngage complex questions about the institution of the church, wrestle with its abuses, and advocate for the Body of Christ to more closely reflect his heart

God sees you and knows you—better than you know yourself. He doesn't need you to change in order for him to love you. He doesn't require you to be free of struggles in order for him to be close to you. He wants you to be your true self with him and be willing to engage with him deeply, so he can wow you with the beauty of his heart and character.]]> 240 Brenna Blain 1400339944 Jaden 0 to-read 4.58 Can I Say That?: How Unsafe Questions Lead Us to the Real God
author: Brenna Blain
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.58
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]]> The Unseen Realm 25077593 413 Michael S. Heiser 1577995562 Jaden 0 to-read 4.46 2015 The Unseen Realm
author: Michael S. Heiser
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/24
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]]> <![CDATA[Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones]]> 40121378 Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving—every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.

Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.

Learn how to:
-Make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);
-Overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;
- Design your environment to make success easier;
- Get back on track when you fall off course;
...and much more.

Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.]]> 319 James Clear Jaden 4
Overall, helpful book, well structured, and concisely written. Each chapter is about a single main idea within the overall structure, explained enough to be understood, small enough to be remembered, logically positioned enough to be recalled. This book helps build up a nice theory of self-manipulation. But human behavior is complicated, so this is far from an answer, and more like some helpful ideas to get you thinking. That’s probably the most helpful thing about this book: getting you thinking about where you err and how you can improve.]]> 4.34 2018 Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
author: James Clear
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/20
date added: 2024/08/20
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review:
I guess you can judge how well I’ve applied this book by how long it has taken me to read it.

Overall, helpful book, well structured, and concisely written. Each chapter is about a single main idea within the overall structure, explained enough to be understood, small enough to be remembered, logically positioned enough to be recalled. This book helps build up a nice theory of self-manipulation. But human behavior is complicated, so this is far from an answer, and more like some helpful ideas to get you thinking. That’s probably the most helpful thing about this book: getting you thinking about where you err and how you can improve.
]]> War and Peace 656
War and Peace broadly focuses on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men.

As Napoleon’s army invades, Tolstoy brilliantly follows characters from diverse backgrounds—peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers—as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture. And as the novel progresses, these characters transcend their specificity, becoming some of the most moving—and human—figures in world literature.


Tolstoy gave his personal approval to this translation, published here in a new single volume edition, which includes an introduction by Henry Gifford, and Tolstoy's important essay `Some Words about War and Peace'.]]> 1392 Leo Tolstoy 0192833987 Jaden 0 to-read 4.14 1869 War and Peace
author: Leo Tolstoy
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1869
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Do Not Be True to Yourself: Countercultural Advice for the Rest of Your Life]]> 64624932 Countercultural Yet Biblical Advice for High School and College Students, Ideal for Graduation and Birthday Gifts

Most speeches addressed to high school and college students follow a similar march to the beat of your own drum. This may sound encouraging on the surface, but Scripture exhorts believers to submit their lives to the will of God, not their own desires. Christian students need gospel-centered truth to guide them on their journey toward independence.

In this collection of inspiring sermons and graduation speeches, Kevin DeYoung delivers a motivational, biblical call to young serve God faithfully—and if necessary, counter-culturally—in the next season of your life.Do Not Be True to Yourselfincludes practical advice for cultivating a Christ-centered worldview in every area of adult life, including relationships, work, church participation, and spiritual growth, making it a transformational resource for mentoring students.

Written by Kevin Pastor and bestselling author shares relevant wisdom from past commencement speeches and sermons Concise, Engaging Chapters of Counter-Cultural Christ-centered guidance that includes developing spiritual habits, prioritizing church attendance, fighting sexual sin, and temptation, and making godly decisions. Includes Reading DeYoung suggests 12 classic Christian books every person should read, from writers including John Calvin, G. K. Chesterton, and R. C. Sproul Perfect for graduation gifts, birthdays, or small group discussion]]> 81 Kevin DeYoung 1433590085 Jaden 0 to-read 4.27 Do Not Be True to Yourself: Countercultural Advice for the Rest of Your Life
author: Kevin DeYoung
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.27
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]]> <![CDATA[Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will]]> 5466804
Hyper-spiritual approaches to finding God's will don't work. It's time to try something new: Give up.

Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through. Too often, he writes, God's people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships, worrying that they haven't found God's perfect will for their lives. Or—even worse—they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision, waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction.

But God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed his plan for our lives: to love him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like.

No need for hocus-pocus. No reason to be directionally challenged. Just do something.]]> 128 Kevin DeYoung 0802458386 Jaden 0 to-read 4.22 2009 Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
author: Kevin DeYoung
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment]]> 18963407 444 Edward Fudge Jaden 0 to-read 4.46 1982 The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment
author: Edward Fudge
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.46
book published: 1982
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/22
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]]> <![CDATA[The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World]]> 273400 224 R.C. Sproul 1581341725 Jaden 0 to-read 4.18 1988 The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World
author: R.C. Sproul
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1988
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]]> Surprised by Oxford 9923943 A "girl-meets-God" style memoir of an agnostic who, through her surprising opportunity to study at Oxford, comes to a dynamic personal faith in God.

Carolyn Weber arrives for graduate study at Oxford University as a feminist from a loving but broken family, suspicious of men and intellectually hostile to all things religious. As she grapples with her God-shaped void alongside the friends, classmates, and professors she meets, she tackles big questions in search of love and a life that matters.

This savvy, beautifully written, credible account of Christian conversion follows the calendar and events of the school year as it entertains, informs, and promises to engage even the most skeptical and unlikely reader.

]]> 456 Carolyn Weber 0849946115 Jaden 0 to-read 4.30 2011 Surprised by Oxford
author: Carolyn Weber
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/10
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]]> 1984 61439040
Alternate cover edition can be found here.]]> 368 George Orwell 0452284236 Jaden 0 to-read 4.21 1949 1984
author: George Orwell
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1949
rating: 0
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]]> To Kill a Mockingbird 2657 "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

"To Kill A Mockingbird" became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film.]]> 323 Harper Lee 0060935464 Jaden 0 to-read 4.25 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird
author: Harper Lee
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1960
rating: 0
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]]> Animal Farm 170448 Librarian's note: There is an Alternate Cover Edition for this edition of this book here.

A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned –a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.
When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell’s masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh.]]> 141 George Orwell 0451526341 Jaden 0 to-read 4.07 1945 Animal Farm
author: George Orwell
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1945
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]]> The Giver (The Giver, #1) 3636 208 Lois Lowry 0385732554 Jaden 0 to-read 4.12 1993 The Giver (The Giver, #1)
author: Lois Lowry
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1993
rating: 0
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]]> The Joy of Fearing God 577147
For most of us, fear is something we try to avoid. And fearing God hardly sounds like an occasion for joy. But Jerry Bridges shows how the fear of the Lord is actually the key that opens the door to a life of true knowledge, wisdom, blessing, and joy.

We all want a deeper, more intimate relationship with God–one that’s characterized by joy. But how does fearing God lead to joy? After all, aren’t we supposed to love Him and live in intimate relationship with Him? Jerry Bridges explores this paradox as he unpacks the biblical promise that God delights in those who fear Him. Join him as he unveils the awesome greatness of God–His incredible holiness, deep wisdom, and especially His inspiring love. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of who God is that will draw you into a truly biblical, and surprisingly delightful, fear of God–a fear that includes your own genuine, heartfelt delight in God.

You’ll make the startling discovery that the fear of the Lord, far from being something to avoid, is the key to joyful, fulfilling, and genuine intimacy with God. It can change your relationship with God and change your life! Discover the surprising Joy of Fearing God!]]> 352 Jerry Bridges 1400070643 Jaden 0 to-read 4.45 1998 The Joy of Fearing God
author: Jerry Bridges
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.45
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Evangelism in the Early Church]]> 265815
In describing life in the early church, Green explores crucial aspects of the evangelistic task that have direct relevance for similar work today, including methods, motives, and strategies. He assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the evangelistic approaches used by the earliest Christians, and he also considers the obstacles to evangelism, using outreach to Gentiles and to Jews as examples of differing contexts for proclamation. Carefully researched and frequently quoting primary sources from the early church, this book will both show contemporary readers what can be learned from the past and help renew their own evangelistic vision.]]> 474 Michael Green 0802827683 Jaden 0 to-read 3.96 1970 Evangelism in the Early Church
author: Michael Green
name: Jaden
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1970
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Honest Evangelism: How to talk about Jesus even when it's tough (Live Different)]]> 25253673
Short, clear, realistic and humorous, this book will challenge you to be honest in your conversations about Jesus, help you to know how to talk about him, and thrill you that God can and will use ordinary people to change eternal destinies.]]> 105 Rico Tice Jaden 0 to-read 4.39 2015 Honest Evangelism: How to talk about Jesus even when it's tough (Live Different)
author: Rico Tice
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Made for People: Why We Drift into Loneliness and How to Fight for a Life of Friendship]]> 63354357 256 Justin Whitmel Earley 0310363004 Jaden 0 to-read 4.47 2023 Made for People: Why We Drift into Loneliness and How to Fight for a Life of Friendship
author: Justin Whitmel Earley
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/06/26
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]]> Crime and Punishment 7144 671 Fyodor Dostoevsky Jaden 0 currently-reading 4.26 1866 Crime and Punishment
author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1866
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/06/25
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> <![CDATA[Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human.]]> 23403781
In Garden City, popular pastor and speaker John Mark Comer gives a fresh take on our calling and our purpose, with a surprisingly counter-culture take.Through his creative and conversational style, Comer takes a good look at Genesis and the story of a man, a woman, and a garden.He unpacks God’s creation and his original intent for how we are meant to spend our time. Here,you’ll find answers to questions like “Does God care where I work?”� “What about what I do with my free time or how much rest I get?� “Does he have a clear direction for me?�

Practical and theologically rich, Garden City speaks to twenty and thirty-somethings who are figuring out next steps and direction in their lives.

Garden City is the Purpose Driven Life for the next generation—the book that helps us answer why we are here and what should we do about it.]]> 322 John Mark Comer 0310337313 Jaden 4
I love Comer’s message but wrestle with it. I wish he had talked about spiritual calling. Everyone is called to glorify God in all their work; still, there are clearly callings to explicitly spiritual roles.

In line with this, I wish he spent more time developing the biblical case for his ideas rather than quickly assuming some, such as how Mt. 28 synthesizes with Gen. 2 (in my mind, this deserves more treatment than “some other people have said this and I agree�). The chief qualm I have is how to reconcile the laid-back vision of doing your culture-crafting work to God’s glory while enjoying his good gifts so that maybe someone notices how different you are and asks why, with the seemingly anxious passion Paul had for the salvation of his brothers, leading him to abandon marriage, money, comfort, and status to go out into synagogues and street corners and implore all, “be reconciled to God!� What to make of the many exhortations that the time is short? How do we live intentionally and prioritize some spiritual activity over others? Who gets to settle down with wealth and kids and maybe fund some missionaries and who is called to sell all their possessions before following Jesus? Do I decide that based on what I enjoy, or what I’m good at, or what others say, or what I feel God saying, or clouds in the sky, or abstract utilitarian logic?

All of life is spiritual, but not to the same degree. As cheesy and evangelical and un-hip as it sounds, there is such a thing as reconciliation to a holy God. We may often underemphasize living the way of Jesus in all of life, but we need not overcorrect by underemphasizing the need to be brought from death to life. Thus (and this may just be a reflection of my own heart), I struggle to reconcile my working with the eternal impetus for salvation with my desires and gifting and whatever my callings might be. Maybe this is a false dilemma, but I felt it deserves more attention in a book talking about what we are made to do.

But I enjoyed the book a lot. Comer is always very engaging and thought provoking.]]> 4.45 2015 Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human.
author: John Mark Comer
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/20
date added: 2024/06/20
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Comer casts a compelling vision of meaningful work in a fallen world. Our working and resting not only fulfills our created purpose to rule and reign over the earth, but anticipates the new creation where we will reign with God forever. “We are people of the future in the present,� and this means all our working does not merely serve ourselves right now, but God and others in this world and the world to come.

I love Comer’s message but wrestle with it. I wish he had talked about spiritual calling. Everyone is called to glorify God in all their work; still, there are clearly callings to explicitly spiritual roles.

In line with this, I wish he spent more time developing the biblical case for his ideas rather than quickly assuming some, such as how Mt. 28 synthesizes with Gen. 2 (in my mind, this deserves more treatment than “some other people have said this and I agree�). The chief qualm I have is how to reconcile the laid-back vision of doing your culture-crafting work to God’s glory while enjoying his good gifts so that maybe someone notices how different you are and asks why, with the seemingly anxious passion Paul had for the salvation of his brothers, leading him to abandon marriage, money, comfort, and status to go out into synagogues and street corners and implore all, “be reconciled to God!� What to make of the many exhortations that the time is short? How do we live intentionally and prioritize some spiritual activity over others? Who gets to settle down with wealth and kids and maybe fund some missionaries and who is called to sell all their possessions before following Jesus? Do I decide that based on what I enjoy, or what I’m good at, or what others say, or what I feel God saying, or clouds in the sky, or abstract utilitarian logic?

All of life is spiritual, but not to the same degree. As cheesy and evangelical and un-hip as it sounds, there is such a thing as reconciliation to a holy God. We may often underemphasize living the way of Jesus in all of life, but we need not overcorrect by underemphasizing the need to be brought from death to life. Thus (and this may just be a reflection of my own heart), I struggle to reconcile my working with the eternal impetus for salvation with my desires and gifting and whatever my callings might be. Maybe this is a false dilemma, but I felt it deserves more attention in a book talking about what we are made to do.

But I enjoyed the book a lot. Comer is always very engaging and thought provoking.
]]> <![CDATA[The Practice of the Presence of God]]> 498641 Alternative cover edition of ISBN 0883681056 can be found here

Brother Lawrence was a man of humble beginnings who discovered the greatest secret of living in the kingdom of God here on earth. It is the art of “practicing the presence of God in one single act that does not end.� He often stated that it is God who paints Himself in the depths of our souls. We must merely open our hearts to receive Him and His loving presence.
As a humble cook, Brother Lawrence learned an important lesson through each daily chore: The time he spent in communion with the Lord should be the same, whether he was bustling around in the kitchen—with several people asking questions at the same time—or on his knees in prayer. He learned to cultivate the deep presence of God so thoroughly in his own heart that he was able to joyfully exclaim, “I am doing now what I will do for all eternity. I am blessing God, praising Him, adoring Him, and loving Him with all my heart.�
This unparalleled classic has given both blessing and instruction to those who can be content with nothing less than knowing God in all His majesty and feeling His loving presence throughout each simple day.]]> 95 Brother Lawrence Jaden 0 to-read 4.31 1692 The Practice of the Presence of God
author: Brother Lawrence
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1692
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Misreading Scripture Through Western Eyes]]> 61121133 E. Randolph Richards Jaden 0 to-read 4.31 2012 Misreading Scripture Through Western Eyes
author: E. Randolph Richards
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2012
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]]> <![CDATA[Fasting (The Ancient Practices)]]> 6218527 practice, this book is a comprehensive guide.]]> 180 Scot McKnight 0849901081 Jaden 0 to-read 4.00 2009 Fasting (The Ancient Practices)
author: Scot McKnight
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/06/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Impossible Christianity: Why Following Jesus Does Not Mean You Have to Change the World, Be an Expert in Everything, Accept Spiritual Failure, and Feel Miserable Pretty Much All the Time]]> 133263033 160 Kevin DeYoung Jaden 0 to-read 4.34 Impossible Christianity: Why Following Jesus Does Not Mean You Have to Change the World, Be an Expert in Everything, Accept Spiritual Failure, and Feel Miserable Pretty Much All the Time
author: Kevin DeYoung
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.34
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date added: 2024/06/04
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]]> <![CDATA[Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation]]> 67862 128 Parker J. Palmer 0787947350 Jaden 0 to-read 4.14 1999 Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation
author: Parker J. Palmer
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1999
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God]]> 173454 448 Dallas Willard 0060693339 Jaden 0 to-read 4.21 1998 The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God
author: Dallas Willard
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/06/01
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]]> <![CDATA[The Spiritual Secret of Hudson Taylor]]> 215275 It is possible to live a life that is totally dependent on Christ for everything. The many miraculous answers to prayer that missionary Hudson Taylor experienced are exciting testimonies of God’s gracious provision.
His life Through Hudson Taylor’s example, discover how you, too, can overcome hardships, experience miracles, and enjoy a life of contagious faith and joy. By following scriptural principles, you can know the fulfillment of God’s perfect will for your life.]]> 306 F. Howard Taylor 0883689502 Jaden 0 to-read 4.44 1932 The Spiritual Secret of Hudson Taylor
author: F. Howard Taylor
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1932
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/05/25
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]]> When He Is Come 1041984 AW Tozer at his best. 172 A.W. Tozer 0875092217 Jaden 0 to-read 4.37 1968 When He Is Come
author: A.W. Tozer
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1968
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction]]> 41252565 Habits form us more than we form them.

The modern world is a machine of a thousand invisible habits, forming us into anxious, busy, and depressed people. We yearn for the freedom and peace of the gospel, but remain addicted to our technology, shackled by our screens, and exhausted by our routines. But because our habits are the water we swim in, they are almost invisible to us. What can we do about it?

The answer to our contemporary chaos is to practice a rule of life that aligns our habits to our beliefs. The Common Rule offers four daily and four weekly habits, designed to help us create new routines and transform frazzled days into lives of love for God and neighbor. Justin Earley provides concrete, doable practices, such as a daily hour of phoneless presence or a weekly conversation with a friend.

These habits are “common� not only because they are ordinary, but also because they can be practiced in community. They have been lived out by people across all walks of life—businesspeople, professionals, parents, students, retirees—who have discovered new hope and purpose. As you embark on these life-giving practices, you will find the freedom and rest for your soul that comes from aligning belief in Jesus with the practices of Jesus.]]> 204 Justin Whitmel Earley 0830845607 Jaden 0 to-read 4.31 2019 The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction
author: Justin Whitmel Earley
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2019
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]]> <![CDATA[Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven]]> 53643693


In Sermon on the A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine introduces the major topics in the Sermon on the Mount, explains historical and theological contexts, and shows how the words of Jesus echo his Jewish tradition and speak forward to reach hearts and minds today.

This book provides a rich and challenging learning experience for the individual reader and also makes a wonderful, six-week group study with the additional Leader Guide, DVD, and 40-day readings]]> 160 Amy-Jill Levine 1501899902 Jaden 0 to-read 4.23 2020 Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven
author: Amy-Jill Levine
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/05/18
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]]> Brave New World 5129 Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine� (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New Worldd likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites.

"Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English." —Chicago Tribune]]> 268 Aldous Huxley 0060929871 Jaden 5
(vague spoilers in the form of general ideas alert)

The fundamental premise: the marching triumph of science, technology, and consumerism will abolish the adversity that makes us human, replacing meaning with mindless distraction, dulling us into abject bliss. We very much live in a brave new world, yet rather than communally distracted into mindless sensual bliss, we are only poorly distracted from a persistent, lonely, throbbing misery.

The climactic debate about God is incredibly interesting and unsatisfying to me. Huxley’s conception of the call to fuller humanity is enchanting, but deficient. This is perfectly summed up by the ending. Quite a surprising plot for a dystopian novel, and perhaps quite a refreshing one. The ending made me think a lot; it is entirely consistent with his premise, but devoid of a solution to the whole dilemma of the book; rather, it is the dilemma of his book, which makes it at the same time so perfect and frustrating.

It all begs the question: is the choice really so starkly between God or happiness, meaning or stability? Are there only two roads: death by distraction or death by suicide? Does happiness come from eliminating desire through immediate satisfaction and medicating away misery? Obviously not, or we would be much happier than our ancestors, but you could well argue we’re less. This is the fundamental error of the brave new world: comfort does not equal happiness. The story seems to teach this: beneath the bliss of the superficial world is a haunting sadness. But Huxley does the devil his due. Is the opposing side really better? Or do meaning, passion, death, and God not only create societal instability, but make us miserable in a more acute way? Is that the choice: stretched-out sadness versus deep acute sadness?

One answer seems to be that depth of happiness is proportional to depth of sorrow. Shallow sorrow with superficial happiness; chasmic sorrow with the profound joy. I guess that’s where stability comes in: the deeper the waters, the more dangerous the current. More meaningful lives have catastrophically more meaningful deaths. That is the risk, the life that costs something, the life where things are expensive. The life where deep happiness is actually possible is the life where failure is more probable.

So, the book seems to say, it is not just happiness but sadness that makes us human, not just getting what we want but getting everything we don’t, not just moral goodness but sin. Sin is part of the humanness: making mistakes, hurting one another, suffering the guilt and loss, seeking atonement. But the ending jarringly begs the higher existential question: is the human experience really worth it? Is the joy worth the sorrow and the freedom worth the sin?

I think the ending is the true ultimate expression of the type of humanistic spirituality that the book propounds. The gods and men are not a satisfying enough answer to the problem of existence. Self-wrought attempts to save humanity, atone for sin, and achieve self-mastery are futile. Their end is, well� read the book.

But a higher hope can be found. The book intimates that there is a higher joy that men feel when they turn to religious experience. But this is not merely because they get God to stabilize their tumultuous emotions and compensate for their waning youth, strength, and beauty. It is because he is actually joyful; he is who they were made for, their only fulfillment. God is not man’s way of fulfilling his experience, man’s invention to justify existence. God is the one who fulfills humanity, who justifies our whole reason for existing by his very existence.

We exist for him, and that is the ultimate answer. We abandon him, and then our problem truly is how to dilute sadness and manufacture pleasure. The end is a life of distraction, the never-ending quest for the longer-lasting fix, but that is delayed suicide. And probably the most insightful truth in the book is this: the man seeking freedom form superficiality on his own is driven mad by a self-wrought pursuit of God. He will end up not only harming himself but hurting others.

There is only one who can reconcile him to God, and that is the Son of God who became human, the only true human, who lived the free life with all its deepest joys and acute sorrows, who took on life’s final haunting curse, and defeated the curse of death once and for all. Only he can make atonement for us, not only with ourselves, and society, and the vast darkness of the universe, but with God. Only he can make us truly human. Only he can make us truly happy. He is the answer our brave new world needs.

Ideas aside, the book is wonderfully written, easy to read. I love the characters; Bernard feels too relatable. The characters had a fullness of life to them: the most realistic bundles of contradictions. I found Huxley quite funny with his sarcasm and irony, his subtle ways of making fun of his own world. His methods of narration feel effortless and captivating. The way he world builds at the beginning without it feeling forced or boring is incredible. I genuinely enjoyed the read. For me, this was as binge-worthy as it was thought-provoking.

Favorite quotes:
“Feeling lurks in that interval of time between desire and its consummation. Shorten that interval, break down all those unnecessary barriers.� (44)

“There was a thing, as I’ve said before, called Christianity� the ethics and philosophy of under-consumption� So essential when there was under-production; but in an age of machines and the fixation of nitrogen—positively a crime against society.� (52)

“Never put off till to-morrow the fun you can have today.� (93)

“All the same�, I do like him. He has such awfully nice hands. And the way he move his shoulders—that’s very attractive� But I wish he weren’t so odd.� (94)

“He was obscurely terrified lest she should cease to be something he could feel himself unworthy of.� (169)

“‘He was a philosopher, if you know what that was.�
‘A man who dreams of fewer things that there are in heaven and earth.’� (231)

“‘You can only be independent of God while you’ve got youth and prosperity; independence won’t take you safely to the end.� Well, we’ve now got youth and prosperity right up to the end. What follows? Evidently, that we can be independent of God.� (233)

“God isn’t compatible with machinery and scientific medicine and universal happiness. You must make your choice.� (234)

“But I don’t want comfort, I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.� (240)

“There was a silence. In spite of their sadness—because of it, even; for their sadness was the symptom of their love for one another—the three young men were happy.� (242)]]> 3.99 1932 Brave New World
author: Aldous Huxley
name: Jaden
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1932
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/15
date added: 2024/05/15
shelves:
review:
Love it as much as I hate it.

(vague spoilers in the form of general ideas alert)

The fundamental premise: the marching triumph of science, technology, and consumerism will abolish the adversity that makes us human, replacing meaning with mindless distraction, dulling us into abject bliss. We very much live in a brave new world, yet rather than communally distracted into mindless sensual bliss, we are only poorly distracted from a persistent, lonely, throbbing misery.

The climactic debate about God is incredibly interesting and unsatisfying to me. Huxley’s conception of the call to fuller humanity is enchanting, but deficient. This is perfectly summed up by the ending. Quite a surprising plot for a dystopian novel, and perhaps quite a refreshing one. The ending made me think a lot; it is entirely consistent with his premise, but devoid of a solution to the whole dilemma of the book; rather, it is the dilemma of his book, which makes it at the same time so perfect and frustrating.

It all begs the question: is the choice really so starkly between God or happiness, meaning or stability? Are there only two roads: death by distraction or death by suicide? Does happiness come from eliminating desire through immediate satisfaction and medicating away misery? Obviously not, or we would be much happier than our ancestors, but you could well argue we’re less. This is the fundamental error of the brave new world: comfort does not equal happiness. The story seems to teach this: beneath the bliss of the superficial world is a haunting sadness. But Huxley does the devil his due. Is the opposing side really better? Or do meaning, passion, death, and God not only create societal instability, but make us miserable in a more acute way? Is that the choice: stretched-out sadness versus deep acute sadness?

One answer seems to be that depth of happiness is proportional to depth of sorrow. Shallow sorrow with superficial happiness; chasmic sorrow with the profound joy. I guess that’s where stability comes in: the deeper the waters, the more dangerous the current. More meaningful lives have catastrophically more meaningful deaths. That is the risk, the life that costs something, the life where things are expensive. The life where deep happiness is actually possible is the life where failure is more probable.

So, the book seems to say, it is not just happiness but sadness that makes us human, not just getting what we want but getting everything we don’t, not just moral goodness but sin. Sin is part of the humanness: making mistakes, hurting one another, suffering the guilt and loss, seeking atonement. But the ending jarringly begs the higher existential question: is the human experience really worth it? Is the joy worth the sorrow and the freedom worth the sin?

I think the ending is the true ultimate expression of the type of humanistic spirituality that the book propounds. The gods and men are not a satisfying enough answer to the problem of existence. Self-wrought attempts to save humanity, atone for sin, and achieve self-mastery are futile. Their end is, well� read the book.

But a higher hope can be found. The book intimates that there is a higher joy that men feel when they turn to religious experience. But this is not merely because they get God to stabilize their tumultuous emotions and compensate for their waning youth, strength, and beauty. It is because he is actually joyful; he is who they were made for, their only fulfillment. God is not man’s way of fulfilling his experience, man’s invention to justify existence. God is the one who fulfills humanity, who justifies our whole reason for existing by his very existence.

We exist for him, and that is the ultimate answer. We abandon him, and then our problem truly is how to dilute sadness and manufacture pleasure. The end is a life of distraction, the never-ending quest for the longer-lasting fix, but that is delayed suicide. And probably the most insightful truth in the book is this: the man seeking freedom form superficiality on his own is driven mad by a self-wrought pursuit of God. He will end up not only harming himself but hurting others.

There is only one who can reconcile him to God, and that is the Son of God who became human, the only true human, who lived the free life with all its deepest joys and acute sorrows, who took on life’s final haunting curse, and defeated the curse of death once and for all. Only he can make atonement for us, not only with ourselves, and society, and the vast darkness of the universe, but with God. Only he can make us truly human. Only he can make us truly happy. He is the answer our brave new world needs.

Ideas aside, the book is wonderfully written, easy to read. I love the characters; Bernard feels too relatable. The characters had a fullness of life to them: the most realistic bundles of contradictions. I found Huxley quite funny with his sarcasm and irony, his subtle ways of making fun of his own world. His methods of narration feel effortless and captivating. The way he world builds at the beginning without it feeling forced or boring is incredible. I genuinely enjoyed the read. For me, this was as binge-worthy as it was thought-provoking.

Favorite quotes:
“Feeling lurks in that interval of time between desire and its consummation. Shorten that interval, break down all those unnecessary barriers.� (44)

“There was a thing, as I’ve said before, called Christianity� the ethics and philosophy of under-consumption� So essential when there was under-production; but in an age of machines and the fixation of nitrogen—positively a crime against society.� (52)

“Never put off till to-morrow the fun you can have today.� (93)

“All the same�, I do like him. He has such awfully nice hands. And the way he move his shoulders—that’s very attractive� But I wish he weren’t so odd.� (94)

“He was obscurely terrified lest she should cease to be something he could feel himself unworthy of.� (169)

“‘He was a philosopher, if you know what that was.�
‘A man who dreams of fewer things that there are in heaven and earth.’� (231)

“‘You can only be independent of God while you’ve got youth and prosperity; independence won’t take you safely to the end.� Well, we’ve now got youth and prosperity right up to the end. What follows? Evidently, that we can be independent of God.� (233)

“God isn’t compatible with machinery and scientific medicine and universal happiness. You must make your choice.� (234)

“But I don’t want comfort, I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.� (240)

“There was a silence. In spite of their sadness—because of it, even; for their sadness was the symptom of their love for one another—the three young men were happy.� (242)
]]> <![CDATA[Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace]]> 56546732
The problem isn't so much that we tell lies but that we live them. We let them into our bodies, and they sabotage our peace. All around us in the culture and deep within our own body memories are lies: deceptive ideas that wreak havoc on our emotional health and spiritual well-being, and deceptive ideas about who God is, who we are, and what the good life truly is.

The choice is not whether to fight or not fight, but whether we win or surrender.

Ancient apprentices of Jesus developed a paradigm for this war; they spoke of the three enemies of the soul: the devil, the flesh, and the world. Live No Lies taps into this ancient wisdom from saints of the Way and translates the three enemies for the modern era, with all its secularism and sophistication. As a generation, we chuckle at the devil as a premodern myth, we are confused by Scripture's teaching on the flesh in an age where sensual indulgence is a virtue not a vice, and we have little to no category for the New Testament concept of the world.

John Mark Comer combines cultural analysis with spiritual formation. He identifies the role lies play in our spiritual deformation and lays out a strategic plan to overcome them.

Do you feel the tug-of-war in your own heart, the inner conflict between truth and lies? The spirit and the flesh? The Way of Jesus and the world? It's time to start winning. It's time to live no lies...]]> 336 John Mark Comer 0525653120 Jaden 0 to-read 4.47 2021 Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace
author: John Mark Comer
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the ModernWorld]]> 43982455 "Who am I becoming?"

That was the question nagging pastor and author John Mark Comer. Outwardly, he appeared successful. But inwardly, things weren't pretty. So he turned to a trusted mentor for guidance and heard these words:

"Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life."

It wasn't the response he expected, but it was--and continues to be--the answer he needs. Too often we treat the symptoms of toxicity in our modern world instead of trying to pinpoint the cause. A growing number of voices are pointing at hurry, or busyness, as a root of much evil.

Within the pages of this book, you'll find a fascinating roadmap to staying emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world.]]> 286 John Mark Comer 0525653090 Jaden 5 4.51 2019 The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the ModernWorld
author: John Mark Comer
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/10
date added: 2024/05/10
shelves:
review:

]]> The Cost of Discipleship 174834
What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the girl which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."

The Cost of Discipleship is a compelling statement of the demands of sacrifice and ethical consistency from a man whose life and thought were exemplary articulations of a new type of leadership inspired by the Gospel, and imbued with the spirit of Christian humanism and a creative sense of civic duty.]]> 320 Dietrich Bonhoeffer 0684815001 Jaden 5
The beginning of the book was convicting enough to feel like I had received as much as I could expect from one book, but I’m glad I finished it. Bonheoffer’s exposition of the sermon on the mount is very life-giving. He put the teachings of Christ before me as a faithful, humble, and deeply transformed steward of the Word, teaching me the way of Christ in a new way and moving my heart towards obedience. His theology of the Church is simply revolutionary and much needed. The only thing I’m still questioning is his defense of pacifism. His exposition of the kingdom that triumphs through suffering, of the disciple who resists through ordinary peaceful and quiet living, of the saints who fight evil and injustice through long-suffering love and self-sacrifice, is certainly biblical and appealing. But whether this amounts to nonviolence in every situation, without any qualification, both politically and individually, is an open question for me.

I will have to read this book again. There is simply too much that I missed, too much profundity profaned by the limits of my attention span. To be fair, Bonhoeffer is not easy to read. His ideas are layered, his concepts always numerous, being weaved together in complex but insightful ways. He was obviously a genius, but this has pros and cons. Pro: he peered deeper into the manifold mysteries of Christ than most. Con: he is incredibly hard to read. Sometimes it feels like he barely managed to express his own thoughts, and never worked too hard to improve their expression. But, almost every other page, he pins a line that says enough for a whole sermon, and that makes all the difficulty of reading him worth it.

5/5, would highly recommend]]> 4.29 1937 The Cost of Discipleship
author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1937
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/27
date added: 2024/04/27
shelves:
review:
Wow, just wow. Bonhoeffer does a beautiful job preaching the holistic gospel of life. He locates discipleship to Christ always in Christ, gazing at Christ, following him, pursuing him, worshipping him, united with him. We are never glorifying ourselves or beholding ourselves, but only gazing at Christ. He shows how the gospel defines us as individuals, defines us together as the Body of Christ, visible throughout the world in his sufferings, triumphant for all eternity in his resurrection. This is discipleship: we are united to Christ in the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. God took up our form, and therefore we are taken up into his. We share his sufferings in the world, triumph through death, being made new into his image, proclaiming his life to all the world.

The beginning of the book was convicting enough to feel like I had received as much as I could expect from one book, but I’m glad I finished it. Bonheoffer’s exposition of the sermon on the mount is very life-giving. He put the teachings of Christ before me as a faithful, humble, and deeply transformed steward of the Word, teaching me the way of Christ in a new way and moving my heart towards obedience. His theology of the Church is simply revolutionary and much needed. The only thing I’m still questioning is his defense of pacifism. His exposition of the kingdom that triumphs through suffering, of the disciple who resists through ordinary peaceful and quiet living, of the saints who fight evil and injustice through long-suffering love and self-sacrifice, is certainly biblical and appealing. But whether this amounts to nonviolence in every situation, without any qualification, both politically and individually, is an open question for me.

I will have to read this book again. There is simply too much that I missed, too much profundity profaned by the limits of my attention span. To be fair, Bonhoeffer is not easy to read. His ideas are layered, his concepts always numerous, being weaved together in complex but insightful ways. He was obviously a genius, but this has pros and cons. Pro: he peered deeper into the manifold mysteries of Christ than most. Con: he is incredibly hard to read. Sometimes it feels like he barely managed to express his own thoughts, and never worked too hard to improve their expression. But, almost every other page, he pins a line that says enough for a whole sermon, and that makes all the difficulty of reading him worth it.

5/5, would highly recommend
]]> <![CDATA[Faithful Leaders: and the Things That Matter Most]]> 57290613 88 Rico Tice 1784985880 Jaden 4 4.50 Faithful Leaders: and the Things That Matter Most
author: Rico Tice
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Spiritual Multiplication in the Real World: Why some disciple-makers reproduce when others fail.]]> 24061032 238 Bob McNabb Jaden 4 4.27 2014 Spiritual Multiplication in the Real World: Why some disciple-makers reproduce when others fail.
author: Bob McNabb
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass]]> 24213
When Alice sees a white rabbit take a watch out of its waistcoat pocket she decides to follow it, and a sequence of most unusual events is set in motion. This mini book contains the entire topsy-turvy stories of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, accompanied by practical notes and Martina Pelouso's memorable full-colour illustrations.]]> 239 Lewis Carroll Jaden 4 4.07 1871 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass
author: Lewis Carroll
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1871
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/18
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves:
review:
Bizarre and fascinating, pretty fun, and not altogether absurd. I would say 4.5/5 for Adventures in Wonderland and 3.5/5 for Through the Looking Glass. Overall was very enjoyable read
]]> <![CDATA[The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine]]> 672493
Here is a masterly study of the inner life by a heart thirsting after God. Here is a book for every child of God, pastor, missionary, and Christian. It deals with the deep things of God and the riches of His grace.

In The Pursuit of God, Tozer sheds light on the path to a closer walk with God.]]> 128 A.W. Tozer 0875093663 Jaden 4 4.36 1948 The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine
author: A.W. Tozer
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1948
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/24
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves:
review:
Insightful, convicting, and wise. Tozer is a gifted writer with a very unique and eloquent way of expressing his thoughts. Would highly recommend this book, as it is short and easy to read. Even for how short it was, it got a little repetitive at the end, and harder to track the overall thought structure of the book. But it repeated lots of good things, so I’ll go 4/5.
]]> Fear and Trembling 24965
In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard wanted to understand the anxiety that must have been present in Abraham when God commanded him to offer his son as a human sacrifice. Abraham had a choice to complete the task or to forget it. He resigned himself to the loss of his son, acting according to his faith. In other words, one must be willing to give up all his or her earthly possessions in infinite resignation and must also be willing to give up whatever it is that he or she loves more than God. Abraham had passed the test -- his love for God proved greater than anything else in him. And because a good and just Creator would not want a father to kill his son, God intervened at the last moment to prevent the sacrifice.]]> 152 Søren Kierkegaard 0143037579 Jaden 0 to-read 4.02 1843 Fear and Trembling
author: Søren Kierkegaard
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1843
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mary Magdalene Revealed: The First Apostle, Her Feminist Gospel & the Christianity We Haven't Tried Yet]]> 42452986 --WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER-- The Gospel of Mary Magdalene reveals a very different love story from the one we've come to refer to as Christianity. Harvard-trained theologian Meggan Watterson leads us verse by verse through Mary's gospel to illuminate the powerful teachings it contains.

A gospel, as ancient and authentic as any of the gospels that the Christian bible contains, was buried deep in the Egyptian desert after an edict was sent out in the 4th century to have all copies of it destroyed. Fortunately, some rebel monks were wise enough to refuse-and thanks to their disobedience and spiritual bravery, we have several manuscripts of the only gospel that was written in the name of a woman: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene.

Mary's gospel reveals a radical love that sits at the heart of the Christian story. Her gospel says that we are not sinful; we are not to feel ashamed or unworthy for being human. In fact, our purpose is to be fully human, to be a "true human being"- that is, a person who has remembered that, yes, we are a messy, limited ego, and we are also a limitless soul.

And all we need to do is to turn inward (again and again); to meditate, like Mary Magdalene, in the way her gospel directs us, so that we can see past the ego of our own little lives to what's more real, and lasting, and infinite, and already here, within.

With searing clarity, Watterson explains how and why Mary Magdalene came to be portrayed as the penitent prostitute and relates a more historically and theologically accurate depiction of who Mary was within the early Christ movement. And she shares how this discovery of Mary's gospel has allowed her to practice, and to experience, a love that never ends, a love that transforms everything.]]> 264 Meggan Watterson 1401954901 Jaden 0 to-read 4.22 2019 Mary Magdalene Revealed: The First Apostle, Her Feminist Gospel & the Christianity We Haven't Tried Yet
author: Meggan Watterson
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Reaching for the Invisible God]]> 22405 304 Philip Yancey 0310247306 Jaden 0 to-read 4.17 2000 Reaching for the Invisible God
author: Philip Yancey
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Treasure Island 295 Treasure Island has never been surpassed. From the moment young Jim Hawkins first encounters the sinister Blind Pew at the Admiral Benbow Inn until the climactic battle for treasure on a tropic isle, the novel creates scenes and characters that have fired the imaginations of generations of readers. Written by a superb prose stylist, a master of both action and atmosphere, the story centers upon the conflict between good and evil - but in this case a particularly engaging form of evil. It is the villainy of that most ambiguous rogue Long John Silver that sets the tempo of this tale of treachery, greed, and daring. Designed to forever kindle a dream of high romance and distant horizons, Treasure Island is, in the words of G. K. Chesterton, 'the realization of an ideal, that which is promised in its provocative and beckoning map; a vision not only of white skeletons but also green palm trees and sapphire seas.' G. S. Fraser terms it 'an utterly original book' and goes on to write: 'There will always be a place for stories like Treasure Island that can keep boys and old men happy.']]> 352 Robert Louis Stevenson 0753453800 Jaden 4 3.84 1882 Treasure Island
author: Robert Louis Stevenson
name: Jaden
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1882
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/10
date added: 2024/03/10
shelves:
review:
Very fun book, brilliant characterization, oftentimes the small details Stevenson would include felt perfect. Makes me want to be a pirate, perhaps more than Pirates of the Caribbean. The book droned a little in the middle but generally kept interest with a satisfying resolution
]]> <![CDATA[The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness]]> 13579364
This is one of the questions the Apostle Paul addresses as he writes to the church in Corinth. He’s not after some superficial outward tinkering, but instead a deep–rooted, life–altering change that takes place on the inside. In an age where pleasing people, puffing up your ego and building your résumé are seen as the methods to ‘make it�, the Apostle Paul calls us to find true rest in blessed self–forgetfulness.

In this short and punchy book, best–selling author Timothy Keller, shows that gospel–humility means we can stop connecting every experience, every conversation with ourselves and can thus be free from self–condemnation. A truly gospel–humble person is not a self–hating person or a self–loving person, but a self–forgetful person.

This freedom can be yours…]]> 46 Timothy J. Keller 1906173419 Jaden 4 4.51 2012 The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness
author: Timothy J. Keller
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/09
date added: 2024/03/09
shelves:
review:
Helpful book, felt like I could hear Keller preaching it to me, wish it was longer!
]]> <![CDATA[Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream]]> 7497897
It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily...

But who do you know who lives like that? Do you?

In Radical , David Platt challengesyou to consider with an open heart how we havemanipulated thegospel to fit our culturalpreferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus.

Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment--a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.]]> 230 David Platt 1601422210 Jaden 0 to-read 4.18 2010 Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
author: David Platt
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age]]> 60354443
In this powerful book, Rosaria Butterfield uses Scripture to confront 5 common lies about sexuality, faith, feminism, gender roles, and modesty often promoted in our secular culture today. Written in the style of a memoir, this book explores Butterfield’s personal battle with these lies―interwoven with cultural studies, literary criticism, and theology―to help readers see the beauty in biblical womanhood, marriage, and motherhood.]]> 368 Rosaria Champagne Butterfield 1433573539 Jaden 0 to-read 4.49 Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age
author: Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.49
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Bruised Reed 770495 134 Richard Sibbes Jaden 5 Beautiful reminder of grace 4.43 1630 The Bruised Reed
author: Richard Sibbes
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1630
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/05
date added: 2024/03/07
shelves:
review:
Beautiful reminder of grace
]]> <![CDATA[Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion]]> 42248511 239 Rebecca McLaughlin 1433564238 Jaden 0 to-read 4.29 2019 Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion
author: Rebecca McLaughlin
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism]]> 1858013 Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical, is a prequel to The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.

The End of Faith. The God Delusion. God Is Not Great. Letter to a Christian Nation. Bestseller lists are filled with doubters. But what happens when you actually doubt your doubts?

Although a vocal minority continues to attack the Christian faith, for most Americans, faith is a large part of their lives: 86 percent of Americans refer to themselves as religious, and 75 percent of all Americans consider themselves Christians. So how should they respond to these passionate, learned, and persuasive books that promote science and secularism over religion and faith? For years, Tim Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced “doubts� skeptics bring to his Manhattan church. And in The Reason for God, he single-handedly dismantles each of them. Written with atheists, agnostics, and skeptics in mind, Keller also provides an intelligent platform on which true believers can stand their ground when bombarded by the backlash. The Reason for God challenges such ideology at its core and points to the true path and purpose of Christianity.

Why is there suffering in the world? How could a loving God send people to Hell? Why isn’t Christianity more inclusive? Shouldn’t the Christian God be a god of love? How can one religion be “right� and the rest “wrong�? Why have so many wars been fought in the name of God? These are just a few of the questions even ardent believers wrestle with today. In this book, Tim Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations and reasoning, and even pop culture to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity with a deep compassion for those who truly want to know the truth.]]> 293 Timothy J. Keller 0525950494 Jaden 0 to-read 4.22 2008 The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
author: Timothy J. Keller
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/05
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]]> <![CDATA[Pickleball: Improve Your Game - Track Your Success]]> 62804278
Fast, fun, and oh-so-sociable, pickleball is the game that’s taken the world by storm. From the first match, “picklers� are hooked on the quick action, strategic play, and mental and physical benefits of this low-impact, highly enjoyable game. Pickleball isn’t just a sport anymore—it’s a way of life.

Pickleball , an interactive workbook, will help you elevate your pickleball game no matter your starting level. Using tried-and-true techniques from the fields of sports psychology and self-improvement , Pickleball encourages you toapproach the game with a growth mindset, creating a path to stronger performance through intention, accountability, and reflection. You’ll strengthen your game

All of the book’s features will help you take charge of your gameplay and reach the next level. From recording a training plan to confronting your inner critic with a pep talk from your inner coach, you’ll take steps that will help you before you even step onto the court. A brief history of pickleball , pickleball trivia , and inspirational quotes are sprinkled throughout.

This workbook is a must-have tool for pickleball players of any skill level.]]> 192 Chartwell Books 0785842063 Jaden 4 4.00 Pickleball: Improve Your Game - Track Your Success
author: Chartwell Books
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
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Just skimmed through it, surprisingly interesting, weirdly philosophical and inspiring
]]> <![CDATA[Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash A Revolution In Your Life in Christ]]> 249014 What Are YouMissing?
Peter Scazzero learned the hard way: you can’t be spiritually maturewhile remaining emotionally immature. Even though he was pastorof a growing church, he did what most people do:
Avoid conflict in the name of Christianity
Ignore his anger, sadness, and fear
Use God to run from God
Live without boundaries

Eventually God awakened him to a biblical integration of emotionalhealth, a relationship with Jesus, and the classic practices of contemplative spirituality. It created nothing short of a spiritual revolution, utterlytransforming him and his church.
In this book Scazzero outlines his journey and the signs of emotionallyunhealthy spirituality. Then he provides seven biblical, reality-testedways to break through to the revolutionary life Christ meant for you.“The combination of emotional health and contemplative spirituality,� hesays, “unleashes the Holy Spirit inside us so that we might experientially know the power of an authentic life in Christ.”]]> 227 Peter Scazzero 1591454522 Jaden 5 Some could over apply his emphasis on rest and limits; to quote a friend, “yah, but sometimes you have to do things.� Nonetheless, I find Scazzero pretty balanced. He emphasizes slowing down, but gives many practical tips for learning when to speed up and how to “do the things� in a healthier and happier way. Occasionally slowing down for an extended season can be just as needful as slowing down for a Sabbath. After all, the Israelites were commanded to rest not only the seventh day, but to feast during the seventh month, and rest the full seventh year, and have a year of jubilee every seventh seventh year (Lev 23, 25). Certainly we would do well to listen to our body and soul and learn when we need to rest, in order that we may labor better, and all to the glory of God.
Scazzero is perhaps better at demonstrating the problems with emotionally unhealthy spirituality than constructing the solutions, but this is to be expected. The solutions one must develop for himself. He leads you past the walls of your repression and denial to the mountain of your emotional messes, generational curses, and past traumas; he equips you with some gospel-centered truths and well-tested tools to help you climb; but ultimately you must rely on the Spirit through prayer and meditation to apply the tools to yourself, to plunge through your past and practice mindfulness in the present, to faithfully pursue a healthier future, personally and communally. Of course, this book cannot replace deep community, trusted mentors, or quality counseling, and isn’t so intended. It is simply a resource to help you start and progress on your journey to true freedom and contentment in God.]]> 4.20 Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash A Revolution In Your Life in Christ
author: Peter Scazzero
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/13
date added: 2024/01/13
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This book was incredibly helpful to me last semester (and remains so) as I have worked on processing my emotions in a healthier and honest way. The stories he shares are relatable and vulnerable, the truths he teaches are encouraging and biblical, and the strategies he proposes were significantly helpful to me.
Some could over apply his emphasis on rest and limits; to quote a friend, “yah, but sometimes you have to do things.� Nonetheless, I find Scazzero pretty balanced. He emphasizes slowing down, but gives many practical tips for learning when to speed up and how to “do the things� in a healthier and happier way. Occasionally slowing down for an extended season can be just as needful as slowing down for a Sabbath. After all, the Israelites were commanded to rest not only the seventh day, but to feast during the seventh month, and rest the full seventh year, and have a year of jubilee every seventh seventh year (Lev 23, 25). Certainly we would do well to listen to our body and soul and learn when we need to rest, in order that we may labor better, and all to the glory of God.
Scazzero is perhaps better at demonstrating the problems with emotionally unhealthy spirituality than constructing the solutions, but this is to be expected. The solutions one must develop for himself. He leads you past the walls of your repression and denial to the mountain of your emotional messes, generational curses, and past traumas; he equips you with some gospel-centered truths and well-tested tools to help you climb; but ultimately you must rely on the Spirit through prayer and meditation to apply the tools to yourself, to plunge through your past and practice mindfulness in the present, to faithfully pursue a healthier future, personally and communally. Of course, this book cannot replace deep community, trusted mentors, or quality counseling, and isn’t so intended. It is simply a resource to help you start and progress on your journey to true freedom and contentment in God.
]]> <![CDATA[Jesus through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Help Us Know and Love the Lord]]> 61074272
Jesus’s treatment of women was revolutionary. That’s why they flocked to him. Wherever he went, they sought him out. Women sat at his feet and tugged at his robes. They came to him for healing, for forgiveness, and for answers. So what did women see in this first-century Jewish rabbi and what can we learn as we look through their eyes today?

In Jesus through the Eyes of Women, Rebecca McLaughlin explores the life-changing accounts of women who met the Lord. By entering the stories of the named and unnamed women in the Gospels, this book gives readers a unique lens to see Jesus as these women did and marvel at how he loved them in return.]]> 192 Rebecca McLaughlin 1956593071 Jaden 0 to-read 4.37 2022 Jesus through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Help Us Know and Love the Lord
author: Rebecca McLaughlin
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Church History in Plain Language]]> 111596 520 Bruce L. Shelley 0849938619 Jaden 0 to-read 4.05 1982 Church History in Plain Language
author: Bruce L. Shelley
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1982
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Christian Philosophy as a Way of Life: An Invitation to Wonder]]> 102882905
This book recovers a more classical vision of Christian philosophy as an entire way of life. Inman shows that wonder is the distinctively human posture that drives and sustains the examined life and makes a compelling case that philosophy is valuable, practical, and significant for every aspect of Christian life and ministry. Living philosophically as a Christian enables us to be properly attuned to what is true and good in Christ and to orient our lives to the highest goals worth pursuing.

This is an ideal introductory book for students of philosophy, Christian thought, and worldview studies. It will also work well in classical school, high school, and homeschool contexts.]]> 191 Ross D Inman 1540965732 Jaden 0 to-read 4.48 Christian Philosophy as a Way of Life: An Invitation to Wonder
author: Ross D Inman
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.48
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]]> Evil and the Justice of God 91375 176 N.T. Wright 0830833986 Jaden 4 3.99 2006 Evil and the Justice of God
author: N.T. Wright
name: Jaden
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/01
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]]> <![CDATA[Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times]]> 24043185 Hearts Minds Bookstore's Best Books
RELEVANT 's Top 10 Books
Englewood Review of Books Best Books When Soong-Chan Rah planted an urban church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his first full sermon series was a six-week exposition of the book of Lamentations. Preaching on an obscure, depressing Old Testament book was probably not the most seeker-sensitive way to launch a church. But it shaped their community with a radically countercultural perspective. The American church avoids lament. But lament is a missing, essential component of Christian faith. Lament recognizes struggles and suffering, that the world is not as it ought to be. Lament challenges the status quo and cries out for justice against existing injustices. Soong-Chan Rah's prophetic exposition of the book of Lamentations provides a biblical and theological lens for examining the church's relationship with a suffering world. It critiques our success-centered triumphalism and calls us to repent of our hubris. And it opens up new ways to encounter the other. Hear the prophet's lament as the necessary corrective for Christianity's future. A Resonate exposition of the book of Lamentations.]]> 224 Soong-Chan Rah 0830836942 Jaden 0 to-read 4.33 2015 Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times
author: Soong-Chan Rah
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/31
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]]> <![CDATA[Rumors of Another World: What on Earth Are We Missing?]]> 197906 262 Philip Yancey 0310252172 Jaden 0 to-read 4.01 2003 Rumors of Another World: What on Earth Are We Missing?
author: Philip Yancey
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/16
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]]> <![CDATA[The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century]]> 59852733
The sexual revolution has liberated us to enjoy a heady mixture of erotic freedom and personal autonomy.

Right? Wrong, argues Louise Perry in her provocative new book.

Although it would be neither possible nor desirable to turn the clock back to a world of pre-60s sexual mores, she argues that the amoral libertinism and callous disenchantment of liberal feminism and our contemporary hypersexualised culture represent more loss than gain.

The main winners from a world of rough sex, hook-up culture and ubiquitous porn - where anything goes and only consent matters - are a tiny minority of high-status men, not the women forced to accommodate the excesses of male lust.

While dispensing sage advice to the generations paying the price for these excesses, she makes a passionate case for a new sexual culture built around dignity, virtue and restraint. This countercultural polemic from one of the most exciting young voices in contemporary feminism should be read by all men and women uneasy about the mindless orthodoxies of our ultraliberal era.]]> 200 Louise Perry 1509549994 Jaden 4 4.23 2022 The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century
author: Louise Perry
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2022
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/08/14
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Wonderful book, extremely relevant, well researched, clearly written, insightful into modern culture. It was very interesting to read about sexual ethics from the perspective of a liberal feminist. Louise Perry makes a thorough and convincing case against hookup culture, casual sexuality, and pornography use, showing how they hurt those involved, especially girls and women, and especially poor girls and women. She also taps into the virtues and social utility of marriage. I only wish she had gone a bit farther!
]]> <![CDATA[Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist]]> 213367
The pursuit of pleasure is not optional. It is essential.

Scripture reveals that the great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. In this paradigm-shattering work, John Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn’t truly Delight is our duty. Join him as he unveils stunning, life-impacting truths you saw in the Bible but never dared to believe.]]> 369 John Piper 1590521196 Jaden 0 to-read 4.17 1986 Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
author: John Piper
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1986
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight For Joy]]> 45352 We all want to experience liberating, love-producing, risk-taking satisfaction in God. But the reality is that we often struggle to find, and hold onto, true and lasting joy—even when we have embraced the good news of God’s grace. So we face a crucial question: What should I do when I don’t desire God?

John Piper aims to help us find joy in Jesus that is so deep and so strong that it frees us from bondage to comfort and security, and impels us to live merciful and missional lives. Written with the radical hope that all Christians would experience the fullness of life in Christ, this book will help you fight for joy daily by leading you to rediscover the soul-satisfying glory of God.

]]> 268 John Piper 1581346522 Jaden 0 to-read 4.11 2004 When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight For Joy
author: John Piper
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2004
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]]> <![CDATA[Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ's Control]]> 56480 Passion and Purity covers dating issues such as:
•how to know which person is the right one to marry
•loving passionately while remaining sexually pure
•the man's and woman's role in relationships
•putting God's desires ahead of personal desires
•how far is too far, physically

This best-selling book now has a new cover, an updated interior design, and a foreword from popular author Joshua Harris. Quest for Love will be redesigned in a similar manner to help readers identify the books as a pair. While Passion and Purity shares the love story of Elisabeth and Jim, Quest for Love is a compilation of stories on how other men and women discovered love through God's direction. Together, these two remarkable books accentuate our need to commit daily to Christ all matters of the heart and to wait on his timing.]]> 192 Elisabeth Elliot 0800758188 Jaden 0 to-read 4.13 1984 Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ's Control
author: Elisabeth Elliot
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1984
rating: 0
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]]> The Holiness of God 556629 240 R.C. Sproul 0842339655 Jaden 0 to-read 4.41 1984 The Holiness of God
author: R.C. Sproul
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1984
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters]]> 6403690 The New York Times bestselling author of The Reason for God and The Songs of Jesus and a nationally renowned minister, Timothy Keller exposes the error of making good things “ultimate� in this book, and shows readers a new path toward a hope that lasts.

Success, true love, and the life you’ve always wanted. Many of us placed our faith in these things, believing they held the key to happiness, but with a sneaking suspicion they might not deliver. The recent economic meltdown has cast a harsh new light on these pursuits. In a matter of months, fortunes, marriages, careers, and a secure retirement have disappeared for millions of people. No wonder so many of us feel lost, alone, disenchanted, and resentful. But the truth is that we made lesser gods of these good things—gods that can’t give us what we really need. There is only one God who can wholly satisfy our cravings—and now is the perfect time to meet him again, or for the first time.

The Bible tells us that the human heart is an “idol-factory,� taking good things and making them into idols that drive us. In Counterfeit Gods, Keller applies his trademark approach to show us how a proper understanding of the Bible reveals the unvarnished truth about societal ideals and our own hearts. This powerful message will cement Keller’s reputation as a critical thinker and pastor, and comes at a crucial time—for both the faithful and the skeptical.]]> 240 Timothy J. Keller 0525951369 Jaden 0 to-read 4.33 2009 Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
author: Timothy J. Keller
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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]]> Miracles 13650512
This is the key statement of ‘Miracles�, in which C. S. Lewis shows that a Christian must not only accept but rejoice in miracles as a testimony of the unique personal involvement of God in his creation.

Using his characteristic lucidity and wit to develop his argument, Lewis challenges the rationalists, agnostics and deists on their own grounds and provides a poetic and joyous affirmation that miracles really do occur in our everyday lives]]> 294 C.S. Lewis 0007461259 Jaden 0 to-read 4.03 1947 Miracles
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1947
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community]]> 174845 122 Dietrich Bonhoeffer 0060608528 Jaden 0 to-read 4.27 1939 Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community
author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1939
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]]> Till We Have Faces 17343
Set against the backdrop of Glome, a barbaric, pre-Christian world, the struggles between sacred and profane love are illuminated as Orual learns that we cannot understand the intent of the gods "till we have faces" and sincerity in our souls and selves.]]> 313 C.S. Lewis Jaden 0 to-read 4.19 1956 Till We Have Faces
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1956
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy]]> 7501962
In the first major biography of Bonhoeffer in forty years, "New York Times" best-selling author Eric Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer's life―the theologian and the spy―to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil. In a deeply moving narrative, Metaxas uses previously unavailable documents―including personal letters, detailed journal entries, and firsthand personal accounts―to reveal dimensions of Bonhoeffer's life and theology never before seen.

In "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy"�"A Righteous Gentile vs the Third Reich," Metaxas presents the fullest accounting of Bonhoeffer's heart-wrenching 1939 decision to leave the safe haven of America for Hitler's Germany, and using extended excerpts from love letters and coded messages written to and from Bonhoeffer's Cell 92, Metaxas tells for the first time the full story of Bonhoeffer's passionate and tragic romance.

Readers will discover fresh insights and revelations about his life-changing months at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem and about his radical position on why Christians are obliged to stand up for the Jews. Metaxas also sheds new light on Bonhoeffer's reaction to Kristallnacht, his involvement in the famous Valkyrie plot and in "Operation 7," the effort to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland.

"Bonhoeffer" gives witness to one man's extraordinary faith and to the tortured fate of the nation he sought to deliver from the curse of Nazism. It brings the reader face to face with a man determined to do the will of God radically, courageously, and joyfully―even to the point of death. "Bonhoeffer" is the story of a life framed by a passion for truth and a commitment to justice on behalf of those who face implacable evil.]]> 608 Eric Metaxas 1595551387 Jaden 0 to-read 4.20 2010 Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
author: Eric Metaxas
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2010
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]]> The Abolition of Man 25825420
The Abolition of Man, Lewis uses his graceful prose, delightful humor, and keen understanding of the human mind to challenge our notions about how to best teach our children--and ourselves--not merely reading and writing, but also a sense of morality.]]> 113 C.S. Lewis Jaden 0 to-read 4.16 1943 The Abolition of Man
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1943
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]]> <![CDATA[Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity]]> 18289396 304 Nabeel Qureshi 0310515025 Jaden 0 to-read 4.57 2014 Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity
author: Nabeel Qureshi
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2014
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]]> Confessions 27037 Confessions is one of the most influential and most innovative works of Latin literature. Written in the author's early forties in the last years of the fourth century A.D. and during his first years as a bishop, they reflect on his life and on the activity of remembering and interpreting a life. Books I-IV are concerned with infancy and learning to talk, schooldays, sexual desire and adolescent rebellion, intense friendships and intellectual exploration. Augustine evolves and analyses his past with all the resources of the reading which shaped his mind: Virgil and Cicero, Neoplatonism and the Bible. This volume, which aims to be usable by students who are new to Augustine, alerts readers to the verbal echoes and allusions of Augustine's brilliant and varied Latin, and explains his theological and philosophical questioning of what God is and what it is to be human. The edition is intended for use by students and scholars of Latin literature, theology and Church history.]]> 341 Augustine of Hippo 0192833723 Jaden 0 to-read 3.95 400 Confessions
author: Augustine of Hippo
name: Jaden
average rating: 3.95
book published: 400
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]]> <![CDATA[Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers]]> 52891090 224 Dane C. Ortlund 1433566133 Jaden 0 to-read 4.50 2020 Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers
author: Dane C. Ortlund
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2020
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]]> Don't Waste Your Life 347656
"God created us to live with a single passion to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives."

Most people slip by in life without a passion for God, spending their lives on trivial diversions, living for comfort and pleasure, and perhaps trying to avoid sin. This book will warn you not to get caught up in a life that counts for nothing. It will challenge you to live and die boasting in the cross of Christ and making the glory of God your singular passion. If you believe that to live is Christ and to die is gain, read this book, learn to live for Christ, and don't waste your life!]]> 192 John Piper 1581344988 Jaden 0 to-read 4.13 2003 Don't Waste Your Life
author: John Piper
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2003
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]]> <![CDATA[The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God]]> 11389341 The Songs of Jesus, Timothy Keller with his wife of 36 years, delivers The Meaning of Marriage, an extraordinarily insightful look at the keys to happiness in marriage that will inspire Christians, skeptics, singles, long-time married couples, and those about to be engaged.

Modern culture would make you believe that everyone has a soul-mate; that romance is the most important part of a successful marriage; that your spouse is there to help you realize your potential; that marriage does not mean forever, but merely for now; that starting over after a divorce is the best solution to seemingly intractable marriage issues. All those modern-day assumptions are, in a word, wrong.

Using the Bible as his guide, coupled with insightful commentary from his wife of thirty-six years, Kathy, Timothy Keller shows that God created marriage to bring us closer to him and to bring us more joy in our lives. It is a glorious relationship that is also the most misunderstood and mysterious. With a clear-eyed understanding of the Bible, and meaningful instruction on how to have a successful marriage, The Meaning of Marriage is essential reading for anyone who wants to know God and love more deeply in this life.]]> 288 Timothy J. Keller 0525952470 Jaden 0 to-read 4.49 2011 The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God
author: Timothy J. Keller
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2011
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]]> <![CDATA[Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life]]> 121732 Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life is a partial autobiography describing Lewis' conversion to Christianity. The book overall contains less detail concerning specific events than typical autobiographies. This is because his purpose in writing wasn't primarily historical. His aim was to identify & describe the events surrounding his accidental discovery of & consequent search for the phenomenon he labelled "Joy". This word was the best translation he could make of the German idea of Sehnsucht, longing. That isn't to say the book is devoid of information about his life. He recounts his early years with a measure of amusement sometimes mixed with pain.

However, while he does describe his life, the principal theme of the book is Joy as he defined it. This Joy was a longing so intense for something so good & so high up it couldn't be explained with words. He's struck with "stabs of joy" throughout life. He finally finds what it's for at the end. He writes about his experiences at Malvern College in 1913, aged 15. Though he described the school as "a very furnace of impure loves" he defended the practice as being "the only chink left thru which something spontaneous & uncalculating could creep in." The book's last two chapters cover the end of his search as he moves from atheism to theism & then from theism to Christianity. He ultimately discovers the true nature & purpose of Joy & its place in his own life.

The book isn't connected with his unexpected marriage in later life to Joy Gresham. The marriage occurred long after the period described, though not long after the book was published. His friends were quick to notice the coincidence, remarking he'd really been "Surprised by Joy". "Surprised by Joy" is also an allusion to Wordsworth's poem, "Surprised by Joy-Impatient As The Wind", relating an incident when Wordsworth forgot the death of his beloved daughter.]]> 185 C.S. Lewis 0006280838 Jaden 0 to-read 4.07 1955 Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life
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average rating: 4.07
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]]> A Grief Observed 26077627
Written in longhand in notebooks that Lewis found in his home, A Grief Observed probes the "mad midnight moments" of Lewis's mourning and loss, moments in which he questioned what he had previously believed about life and death, marriage, and even God. Indecision and self-pity assailed Lewis. "We are under the harrow and can't escape," he writes. "I know that the thing I want is exactly the thing I can never get. The old life, the jokes, the drinks, the arguments, the lovemaking, the tiny, heartbreaking commonplace." Writing A Grief Observed as "a defense against total collapse, a safety valve," he came to recognize that "bereavement is a universal and integral part of our experience of love."

Lewis writes his statement of faith with precision, humor, and grace. Yet neither is Lewis reluctant to confess his continuing doubts and his awareness of his own human frailty. This is precisely the quality which suggests that A Grief Observed may become "among the great devotional books of our age."]]> 76 C.S. Lewis Jaden 0 to-read 4.31 1961 A Grief Observed
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1961
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]]> The Four Loves 29938407
C.S. Lewis—the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—contemplates the essence of love and how it works in our daily lives in one of his most famous works of nonfiction. Lewis examines four varieties of human love: affection, the most basic form; friendship, the rarest and perhaps most insightful; Eros, passionate love; charity, the greatest and least selfish. Throughout this compassionate and reasoned study, he encourages readers to open themselves to all forms of love—the key to understanding that brings us closer to God.]]> 192 C.S. Lewis 0062565397 Jaden 0 to-read 4.24 1960 The Four Loves
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1960
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]]> The Problem of Pain 13650513
The greatest Christian thinker of our time sets out to disentangle this knotty issue. With his signature wealth of compassion and insight, C. S. Lewis offers answers to these crucial questions and shares his hope and wisdom to help heal a world hungry for a true understanding of human nature.]]> 162 C.S. Lewis 0007461267 Jaden 0 to-read 4.24 1940 The Problem of Pain
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1940
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]]> Mere Christianity 40792344 Mere Christianity is C.S. Lewis's forceful and accessible doctrine of Christian belief. First heard as informal radio broadcasts and then published as three separate books � The Case for Christianity, Christian Behavior, and Beyond Personality � Mere Christianity brings together what Lewis saw as the fundamental truths of the religion.

Rejecting the boundaries that divide Christianity's many denominations, C.S. Lewis finds a common ground on which all those who have Christian faith can stand together, proving that "at the centre of each there is something, or a Someone, who against all divergences of belief, all differences of temperament, all memories of mutual persecution, speaks the same voice."]]> 98 C.S. Lewis Jaden 5 4.43 1952 Mere Christianity
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1952
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]]> The Pilgrim's Progress 29797 Along a road filled with monsters and spiritual terrors, Christian confronts such emblematic characters as Worldly Wiseman, Giant Despair, Talkative, Ignorance, and the demons of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. But he is also joined by Hopeful and Faithful.
An enormously influential 17th-century classic, universally known for its simplicity, vigor, and beauty of language, The Pilgrim's Progress remains one of the most widely read books in the English language.]]> 324 John Bunyan Jaden 0 to-read 4.05 1678 The Pilgrim's Progress
author: John Bunyan
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1678
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]]> The Screwtape Letters 8130077
C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters has entertained and enlightened readers the world over with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life and foibles from the unique vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to “Our Father Below.� At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C.S. Lewisgives us the correspondence of the wordly-wise devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. The Screwtape Lettersis the most engaging account of temptation—and triumph over it—ever written.]]> 222 C.S. Lewis Jaden 0 to-read 4.37 1942 The Screwtape Letters
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1942
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]]> <![CDATA[Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God]]> 3206011 187 Francis Chan 1434768511 Jaden 0 to-read 4.16 Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
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name: Jaden
average rating: 4.16
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]]> The Great Divorce 25845273
C.S. Lewis� The Great Divorce is a classic Christian allegorical tale about a bus ride from hell to heaven. An extraordinary meditation upon good and evil, grace and judgment, Lewis’s revolutionary idea in the The Great Divorce is that the gates of Hell are locked from the inside. Using his extraordinary descriptive powers, Lewis� The Great Divorce will change the way we think about good and evil.]]> 146 C.S. Lewis Jaden 0 to-read 4.39 1946 The Great Divorce
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Jaden
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1946
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